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If there was one thing that Joel could pester you about that you couldn’t defend yourself against, it would have to be your recklessness.
You had a knack for getting yourself in trouble, whether it be accidentally getting a bunch of clickers to chase after you all because you laughed a little too loud, or almost rolling off a cliff because you slept a little too close to the ledge. Each time you accidentally do something that could’ve gotten you killed, Joel would lecture you on how you need to be more careful.
“Jesus Christ, I mean, Ellie’s younger than you and even she has more common sense than you!” he would say, causing you to bashfully look at the ground.
Did you ever learn from your mistakes, though?
…Nope.
I mean, if you did, then you wouldn’t have been able to find this super pretty patch of flowers! Sure, finding shelter in Jackson made it so that it would be a hell of a lot harder to get yourself killed doing something dumb, but you’re you. You’ll find a way, and find a way you did. You tried your hardest to be put on patrol duty today so you could scour the area for the prettiest flowers you could find. Joel mentioned how he hasn’t seen a flower in so long, and while you wanted to say that was the reason you decided to risk it all for some plants, you always just kind of wanted to give Joel a pretty little bouquet.
Luckily, you knew roughly where the patch of flowers was, but unluckily, you had no prowice in exploring this area. If you did, maybe you wouldn’t have slipped and fallen on your ass while trying to navigate a steep hill. The area was stupidly rocky, meaning you had cuts and scrapes all over your body all because you lost your footing an embarrassing amount of times, but hey, at least you found some gorgeous little wildflowers!
When you made it back to the commune, you were covered in dirt and riddled with cuts, but you could freshen up later–you had a big bouquet in your hand, and you needed to deliver them to Joel.
When you knocked on his door, you were a little surprised at how quick he was to answer. Luckily, you put the flowers behind your back so that the surprise wouldn’t be ruined. His brows were furrowed as if he was deep in thought before having his eyes widen when he realized it was you outside his door.
“Good lord, where have you been all day? Been lookin’ all over for you- and what happened!?” Joel was gesturing towards the myriad of scrapes on your arm, but you just kept your face in a tight smile. You pulled the bouquet from behind you, and squeaked out an awkward, “Surprise!”
“Now where in the world did you get these?” Joel stared at the flowers confused and slowly grabbed them. He thought about his own question for two seconds before he looked back up at you. “Don’t tell me you went on patrol duty just for some damn flowers!”
You sighed and tried cracking a joke, saying “A thank you would be nice!” Joel just ushered you in and made you sit on his couch as he got his first aid kit.
“You are insane, you know that?” he told you as he pulled out some rubbing alcohol and saturated a cloth with it. He softly went over all your cuts and scrapes, making you wince with the sting of the alcohol. “You could’ve gotten injured. I mean, you already are, but what if you broke a bone!?”
“Well I didn’t!” you retorted, wanting to cross your arms, but refraining since he was in the middle of cleaning. Joel just rolled his eyes and put the rubbing alcohol away. He dug through his bag of medical supplies before grabbing a couple bandaids for the bigger cuts. As he applied the bandaids to your wounds, he softly smoothed over the wound with his hand as if he was trying to softly caress the cut away.
“...Thank you,” Joel awkwardly murmured. You giddily smiled to yourself, happy that at least Joel appreciated the flowers.
“I’d go on patrol and pick a bouquet of flowers for you any day-”
“Don’t,” Joel warned, exasperated. You just giggled and waited for him to be done with the bandaids. Once Joel was done applying the bandaids, he got up, took the flowers, and went into the kitchen. You patiently sat on his couch’s seat, a little tired from scavenging all day.
When Joel came back to the couch, he sat next to you, putting an arm around your shoulder and kissing your cheek. “I appreciate the thought, but don’t scare me shitless like that again! Almost had a heart attack when I didn’t know where you were all day.”
You looked up at him and shyly nodded. “Sorry for scaring you… it was for a good cause, at least?”
Joel gave a small smile and rolled his eyes, leaning you closer to him.
The next day, you saw the bouquet of wildflowers perched elegantly on his nightstand.